Three players have been nominated for Manchester United’s first Player-of-the-Month award following the restart of 2019/20.
The return to action after football’s three-month suspension has been hugely positive for the Reds so far, as we have strengthened our claim for a top-four spot in the Premier League and progressed to the Emirates FA Cup semi-final.
Wins over Sheffield United, Norwich City and Brighton & Hove Albion, plus a positive point away at Tottenham Hotspur, were full of great performances, but Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic particularly stood out. Despite strong competition from Paul Pogba, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, they are the three players up for June’s award.
Scroll down to find out how to vote, and why Fernandes, Matic and Martial have been nominated…
BRUNO FERNANDES
Our Portuguese magnifico picked up where he left off before lockdown, nervelessly slotting home a late penalty at Spurs and dovetailing well with Pogba, when the Frenchman was introduced as a second-half substitute in North London. Bruno was an important part of successive wins in league and cup over Sheffield United and Norwich, but he saved his best showing until the last game on the month, at Brighton. His first effort against the Seagulls may have taken a significant deflection before it found the back of Mat Ryan’s net, but his second was pure, unadulterated class, volleying home at the back post to finish off a buccaneering counter-attacking move that brought to mind the very finest, flowing football from Sir Alex Ferguson’s great sides.
ANTHONY MARTIAL
Like Fernandes, Martial had been enjoying 2020 before COVID-19 hit, and the 24-year-old looked sharp when the campaign resumed at Spurs – with only Hugo Lloris’s acrobatics denying him as United fought back from adversity in an encouraging second half. Five days later, at Old Trafford, it was Anthony’s time to take centre-stage, as he recorded his first senior hat-trick – and the Reds’ first treble in the league since Robin van Persie’s goal spree on that balmy night in April 2013. The first two strikes showcased Martial’s penalty-box strengths and delighted his manager no end, while the third was Anthony at his finest – a one-two with Marcus Rashford sent him through on goal, and a delicate dink finished the job. C'est magnifique!
NEMANJA MATIC
Much of the talk post-lockdown has been about how Fernandes and Pogba will intertwine in United’s new-look midfield. That they’ve done so effortlessly is in no doubt, but one of the reasons why it’s all gone so smoothly is the shielding presence of Matic at the base of midfield. The former Chelsea man started on the bench at Tottenham but came on to help the Reds guard against a potential late Spurs stinger, before his performance against the Blades five days later led Solskjaer to proclaim the Serbian was in the midst of some of the best form of his career. He was right in the thick of things as United suffocated the life out of Brighton during the first 50 minutes on Tuesday, and made a memorable contribution to Bruno’s brilliant second goal, hooking an aerial ball into acres of space on the Seagulls’ right to allow Greenwood to charge forward and put to bed any thought of the south-coast club getting back into the contest.
HOW TO VOTE
The Player of the Month poll is now open in our Official App, which is free to download.
Be quick to cast your vote, as the poll is set to close at 12:00 BST on Saturday afternoon, when the winner will be announced.
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